The city, which has been a popular location for movie and television producers, has been selected to feature some of the area’s Indigenous leaders and engaged youth.

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is in North Bay for two days this week as part of a cross-country road trip.

The production, titled Future History, is filming Season 2 – a 13-part documentary series. Season 1 will air Nov. 13 on APTN.

Hosts Kris Nahrgang and Sarain Fox are scheduled to visit K’Tigaaning Midwives, which opened in the fall 2016 on Nipissing First Nation land, as well as First Nation leaders and advocates Carole Couchie and Maurice Switzer.

The filming crew will then attend Big Medicine Studio, a 1,200-square-foot, multi-use studio owned by Penny Couchie and Sib Bobb. The studio opened in 2010 and continues to host mentorships and workshops, and is touted as the only dedicated arts studio of its type in the region.

Producer and director Jennifer Podemski says the show is about highlighting Indigenous narratives while unlocking treasures.

“This show explores the diversity of a First Nations community through experience, approach, culture and identity. And even though we are going into our own communities, most people don’t realize how incredibly diverse we are,” she told The Nugget Monday.

Podemski said the series is an opportunity to continually remind people of the knowledge being shared in each community based on its own history and story-telling over thousands of years.

“I’m amazed by the incredible diversity and the work that is being done at the grassroots level. I’ve come to North Bay for different reasons, they’re so many rich stories to be told and people who are truly harnessing their own potential in their community,” she said.

“For the native community the goal is to inform and inspire, educate and really tell stories in a way that makes Indigenous viewers feel like we’re telling their story while, at the same time, inviting non-indigenous viewers to hear stories they’ve never heard in the classroom or in the news.”

Geoff Ewart, a producer with Future History, said after filming in North Bay the crew will head to Sudbury and Elliott Lake.

He said he’s been impressed with the stories that have already been featured and is looking forward to new ones.

“There’s been some incredible people. There’s something about the next generation of Indigenous kids – there’s something bubbling under the surface.”